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What Are The Ingredients For A Good Wonder Woman Television Series?

We look at previous adaptations of the character for the small screen to identify what works, and what didn't.

Wonder Woman is sort of an elusive character. Who she is and what attributes define her are sometimes difficult to explain, which is one of the reasons why she is so difficult to write well, and may be one reason why film and television executives have stayed away from adaptations of her character. She is a super powered woman who stands for very specific principles but her heritage and her background are so unique that it is nearly impossible to make audiences relate to her. She is an Amazon warrior woman and also a compassionate character but if tested and pushed to her limits, she is ruthless. She has grace, beauty, charm and charisma; and if she sounds a little like a perfect woman, that right there may be one of her biggest flaws.

For the last several years we have heard rumors of a Wonder Woman movie or television series. We even saw the pilot to a Wonder Woman TV show written by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal) that (thankfully) never got off the ground. More recently, following the success of Arrow for the CW, the network has looked to Diana for their next potential superhero inspired television series. Yet, unlike Arrow, Wonder Woman isn't exactly black and white. She's far less grounded than Oliver Queen and a whole heck of a lot more complicated. Beyond that, there have also been a lot of different versions of her character. So how do you make a good Wonder Woman television series? What are the ingredients to make something like this work? To answer this question, we looked at what is wrong with the character and what we feel would not translate well onto the small screen.

== TEASER ==

The Wonder Woman Origin

In her comic book origin, Diana is sculpted out of clay by her Mother with the blessings of the Olympian Goddesses. She is raised as a great warrior on a peaceful island made up only of women. This entire idea, while interesting, is impossible for the average person to relate to. Take for example a character like Superman; he may have been an alien who crash landed in Smallville, but he was raised by a warm and loving Mid-Western family. The fact that he also has estranged parents sort of helps his character be more relatable to audiences. It humanizes him in a way because although he is so strong and essentially "super human," he has average problems that a regular person could relate to. The made of clay origin and the being raised on an island of women doesn't exactly work because it is difficult explain in a real world environment. If that origin is kept, the fact that she comes from a completely different place needs to be meshed into the story. How do you explain her origin but set her story in the real world?

In the current Wonder Woman comic book series, Diana's origin story was changed. In it, Hippolyta falls in love with Zeus and they conceive a child -- Diana. She grows up not knowing her father and thinking she had no male figure in her life. This creates a very interesting dynamic and one that grounds her character. It demonstrates that she has "regular people problems," not just "I have to save the world," problems and I think that is important. Whatever origin this next show chooses to use, in order to make it feel grounded and to appeal to a mass audience, Diana will have to feel relatable on an emotional level.

The Costume

None of Wonder Woman's costumes have been very good. Her original costume with the skirt, while cute, was impractical. The red, white and blue strapless leotard with red knee high boots; while iconic, ridiculous to actually fight in. The pants and strapless top worn by actress Adrianne Palicki on the most recent attempt at an adaptation for a Wonder Woman television series may have been better than the previous two mentioned, but it still does not really work. The texture was shiny and looked cheap, and as good as Palicki's acting was in the pilot episode of that show, even she could not make that costume look better.

Regardless, the character definitely needs a costume redesign both for her current comic book series as well as in the CW television show. We recently saw an incredible redesign of her costume that went viral illustrated by artist Rahzahh. The best thing about this costume design is the fact that it takes many of the elements of her costume (the eagle emblem and the red, white and blue stars and stripes) and incorporates them into a new costume that not only covers her entire body and looks practical, but it is more fitting for a warrior than a skimpy bathing suit. She looks cool and looks believable, like she could kick major butt, and I think that's important.

Tone

If it's going to air on the CW, then it's likely to target a very specific, teenage demographic. Although I will be the first to say that there are a lot of elements of Arrow that I find cheesy, overall I think it does a relatively good job walking the line between the unbelievable and grounded in reality. In order for this show to work the tone needs to make the story feel grounded. Mind you, grounded does not necessarily mean dark, but it does mean more serious. If you focus on relating the character to audiences on an emotional level, chances are you will have more luck with the show. It also needs to be well written and consistent. It needs to focus on her flaws and imperfections as well as her battles.

Consider The Budget and Cameo Appearances

Obviously you can't expect that every single member of the Justice League is going to show up for her television show, and although seeing many familiar faces on the CW's Arrow series has been fun a lot of the time, the majority of these characters are street level at best. Wonder Woman is super powered, and if you can't show her doing crazy stunts, then don't even try.

It is also important to look at the character's identity and consider what other characters are important and supplemental to her story. Artemis, Hippolyta and Ares, for example, are vital to the Wonder Woman mythos and are a group of characters that should absolutely be featured on the show.

If it were up to me, I would personally focus on her youth and younger years, much like the CW did for Smallville. It is impossible to really relay all of Superman's feats as an adult hero without spending a whole lot of money, and it's easier and more cost effective to tell the story of his youth. The same can be said for Wonder Woman. The show could easily focus on Diana's youth and her years on Paradise Island and still remain cost effective. It would also explore her character and identity in ways we haven't yet seen which would definitely add to her story.

What do you think, though? What do you think that the CW's upcoming Amazon should be like? Should it be set in present day, or on Paradise Island? How much of Wonder Woman's mythology should be kept? What should the show's focus be on? What characters would you like to see and should her costume be changed? Let us know in the comments below.

Armor, Azzerello, Ares, banging Superman or at least a cameo or something, not on the WB or CW or whatever (no chance of that one), use the series as a set-up to the Justice League movie, those are the first things that come to my mind.....

This is going to be difficult to phrase and also somewhat rambling because I've been a huge fan of new52 Wonder Woman, and was only a casual fan of the classic character. But I think Diana is a much easier character than everyone tries to make her. I think the character fails when people try and make her something she's not, or don't respect the Greco-Roman foundation of her character. If I had my druthers or contacts at a MAJOR TV NETWORK CBS, Welcome Home! This is what I would do…

Amazon

The setup is simple. This is not a superhero show, not to begin with; it's fantasy. The tone is not high school like Smallvile, or PG13 grimdark like Arrow, You have to go a less campy version of the 90s shows Hercules: the Legendary Journeys, and Xena: Warrior Princess. Unlike Smallville, or what Babs suggested, I wouldn't do the whole series as her growing up and end with her becoming Wonder Woman, but I wouldn't even think of giving her the tiara for the first 2 seasons minimum.

Amazon wearing trousers and carrying a shield with an attached patterned cloth and a quiver c. 470 BC

Costume would be very Grecian. Her armor would be somewhere between the 0 issue, and the Donna Troy armor. Wonder Woman will NOT wear pants, until at least a year after living in man's world. Remember, pants were worn by the Persians, arch enemy of the Greeks, so they would not be worn by any of the Amazons or their gods. You could say maybe the Bana-Mighdall Amazons adopted pants. If she's wearing pants, personally I prefer the armor plated skirt over the pants (similar to the picture right).

You don't need to worry about which origin because she will always grow up believing the clay story, whether you add the Zeus daddy twist later or not. Both origins make sense in a a mythological/fantasy setting, and in her world, if she had a deadbeat god-daddy, clay is more believable than telling kids a stork brings them. Clay gives her a sense of ostracization from her peers; and if Hippolyta resorted to begging the gods to give life to clay, it's like an older woman who struggled with fertility problems; she could be more overprotective. I have a cousin who tried for almost 10 years before becoming a mother, when she finally had a daughter she was a lot more intense than most parents I know. The whole Zeus-dad part can be revealed later because it gets her questioning everything she's ever known about herself and gives her this complexity of abandonment issues: why did he leave? wasn't I good enough? and most importantly for a superhero I've got to prove worth to him and to myself.

For season 1, stories could be about based around the gods being jerks (because that's most of Greco-Roman mythology), conflict between the Amazons of Themyscira and other Amazon outposts like Bana-Mighdall, and being mentored in secret by Ares (a la WW #0). So by the end of season 1, Diana does something that outs her training. Season 2 you have Daina being in conflict with her mother over Ares. Granted, no Amazon really grows up with a strong, supportive male influence, but all the other Amazons are told that their fathers were valiant warriors who were able to match their mothers on the battlefield and were deemed worthy of creating more Amazons. Diana doesn't even have that, so when Ares acknowledges her potential it gives her some validation. And the big twist in season 2 is that Ares wants to use Diana to conquer Paradise Island and/or the world of man. Once Diana gets wise to Ares, that's when the modern world comes crashing in, I'd end season 2 with Steve Trevor's plane crashing. Season 3 starts with Diana taking up the mantle of Wonder Woman, seeing the outside world. I wouldn't give her a secret identity, I would have her traveling the world as an emissary/diplomat, becoming disgusted with crime, violence, civil unrest, etc. and taking it upon herself to protect the innocent. Her initial foes could be anything from standard criminals, to warlords, terrorists, sex slavery rings, etc. From there, I'm still a little fuzzy on where to take it because I'm not that well versed on Wonder Woman's back catalogue.

This is a lot harder than my 10 year plan to reboot the Batman movie franchise hitting the best story notes and spinning off all the necessary characters, without needing to connect to an outside DC-Cinematic-Universe. Check my blog for THAT lovely bit of rambling.

@Babs: I agree with some of the things you but here is where I disagree.

One I like dont like her demigoddess origin yet dont like the clay either so i say give Diana a mortal father who acts as her guide in Mans world. This would add a dynamic father daughter storyline.This is how she gets her surname prince from him. Her powers can be explained as a reward for winning the tourement. Second her power levels should be lowered to spider man level of strengh and no flight. She could use the lasso like spider man 's webs as a mode of transportion. Also I dont like your costume idea. I prefer smothing like the Black Widows outfit with a Greco roman flare to it. Your idea would be also impractial as it wouldn't be steathly at all.

I do agree on the origins issue. It would probably be best to stick to her origins of the New 52 brand of Wonder Woman for an effective show. Perhaps its just me though but personally I think classic Wonder Woman's look could work on the screen. It worked in the day of Lynda Carter and I still think it could today. Lynda Carter as Hippolyta should be a prerequisite to such a show; its only fair. We need a new show, we just do.

Alright I'm going to say this as someone who absolutely hated smallville, and finds Arrow good enough that I'll sit down with my roommate provided he bribes me with that awesome scotch he keeps in his cabinet.

But I think that making her down to earth, gritty and relatable is bull**it. If anything Wonder Woman should be a sweeping epic about a legendary warrior set in the modern world. Diana should be slaying hydras with a rusted knife, crushing the skull of the minotaur with her tight and ripping the hearts out of the cyclops with her bare hands.

I don't want relatable, I want a glorious escapist fantasy with all the tropes of greek myth: beautiful, tragic, sick and perverted in equal measure.

When we see her fighting modern threats it should be her crushing her way through a swat team with a single scratch because she's a freaking demigoddess amazon and mortal weapons are not awesome enough to hurt her. It should be her falling from the sky after slaying a dragon on top of a fighter jet, punching the glass and then throwing the pilot in the backseat so she can hijack it to fly off to shoot down the sytillan birds with a gattling gun and tomahawk missiles.

I don't want to relate to her, I want to watch this show and just be overcome with the urge to jump and say "F**K YEAH! THAT IS AWESOME!"

screw this gritty relatable crap. I want to see her dive into into the river Styx because Zeus decided he was going to toss Hades's helmet of invisibility in there and make Diana go get it because he's a douche then get away with it thanks to an excuse about testing her might and such and being Zeus and so charismatic she believes him even after the thousands souls of undead lemures almost ripped her to shreds.

I would do a Wonder Woman tv show as diana in high school like Smallville season 1 which was set in Smallville high school. Diana will secretly be a member of a ninja sorority called amazons so no super powers and just ninja fighting skills. Amazons will just be normal females and no immortality but they are descended from the amazons of greek mythology. I prefer amazons as female versions of the male only Freemasons. Amazons can be done like female batman or female League of Shadows. For more fantasy, can give amazons more advanced science so amazons have experimented on themselves to make themselves smarter and stronger and live longer than other humans. Bourne Legacy power levels or Deathstroke/Captain America power levels would be more believable.

Good idea for a non-comic-based movie... but that would not work for WW. She is a comics book icon, one of the Big 3 of JL... I can imagine how many people would be crazy about these changes.

@Fantasgasmic: Man, CW please let this person over here try to do the WW series. Really that is a good way to make it.

Thank you sir.

@Crom-Cruach said:

If anything Wonder Woman should be a sweeping epic about a legendary warrior set in the modern world. Diana should be slaying hydras with a rusted knife, crushing the skull of the minotaur with her tight and ripping the hearts out of the cyclops with her bare hands.

I don't want relatable, I want a glorious escapist fantasy with all the tropes of greek myth: beautiful, tragic, sick and perverted in equal measure.

I think the posture Adrianne Palicki did is awesome, changes to the costume will be great, like how Nolan did to TDK trilogy.

But I personally think that a character like this won't fit into a TV screen, we expect a CGI Paradise Island, a large and stunning scene...like Thor. Both character are very similar, Fish out of Water story.

WW should be on the Big screen, not TV series, it just doesn't fit. Character like Cyborg, Arrow and Batman can be done, but WW? I don't think so.

I think that the costume in a tv show should forgo the Americana aspect prevalent in her traditional costume; so Donna Troy's Wonder Woman costume is a good direction to go in, I think, especially as I've always felt that Wonder Woman would look best in white and gold (as a member of the Trinity, she should have a colour palette that differentiates her from Superman and Batman, while also referencing her connection to classical antiquity and expressing her noble character.)

A lot like with Batman: The Animated Series, I'm fine with the odd reference to the classic TV series here and there, but they should avoid campiness for the most part and strive to strike it's own tone. Just as Wonder Woman should be differentiated from Batman and Superman in colour palette with her costume, they should strive to strike a new and unique tone with Wonder Woman. Batman is about perseverance and facing one's deepest, darkest nightmares. Superman is about hope for humanity and belief in the common good. Between the darkness of Batman and the light of Superman, Wonder Woman seemingly isn't left with much creative room. But, I think it's important for Wonder Woman to be that gray area, to be a sort of in-between of Batman and Superman who both faces dreadful, nightmarish monsters as well as flies and becomes a symbol of hope wherever she goes. And, as the gray area, her decisions need to be morally ambiguous and thought-provoking, like when she killed Maxwell Lord on live television. Shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead prove that today's audiences are used to complex and morally ambiguous characters and shows like Once Upon A Time and Game of Thrones prove that audiences are willing to entangle themselves into a world of myth and magic with strong female characters. It can be done.

Also, have Bear McCreary do the opening theme-song. That alone will make it a hit.

Alright I'm going to say this as someone who absolutely hated smallville, and finds Arrow good enough that I'll sit down with my roommate provided he bribes me with that awesome scotch he keeps in his cabinet.

But I think that making her down to earth, gritty and relatable is bull**it. If anything Wonder Woman should be a sweeping epic about a legendary warrior set in the modern world. Diana should be slaying hydras with a rusted knife, crushing the skull of the minotaur with her tight and ripping the hearts out of the cyclops with her bare hands.

I don't want relatable, I want a glorious escapist fantasy with all the tropes of greek myth: beautiful, tragic, sick and perverted in equal measure.

When we see her fighting modern threats it should be her crushing her way through a swat team with a single scratch because she's a freaking demigoddess amazon and mortal weapons are not awesome enough to hurt her. It should be her falling from the sky after slaying a dragon on top of a fighter jet, punching the glass and then throwing the pilot in the backseat so she can hijack it to fly off to shoot down the sytillan birds with a gattling gun and tomahawk missiles.

I don't want to relate to her, I want to watch this show and just be overcome with the urge to jump and say "F**K YEAH! THAT IS AWESOME!"

screw this gritty relatable crap. I want to see her dive into into the river Styx because Zeus decided he was going to toss Hades's helmet of invisibility in there and make Diana go get it because he's a douche then get away with it thanks to an excuse about testing her might and such and being Zeus and so charismatic she believes him even after the thousands souls of undead lemures almost ripped her to shreds.

The show could easily focus on Diana's youth and her years on Paradise Island and still remain cost effective. It would also explore her character and identity in ways we haven't yet seen which would definitely add to the story.

Alright I'm going to say this as someone who absolutely hated smallville, and finds Arrow good enough that I'll sit down with my roommate provided he bribes me with that awesome scotch he keeps in his cabinet.

But I think that making her down to earth, gritty and relatable is bull**it. If anything Wonder Woman should be a sweeping epic about a legendary warrior set in the modern world. Diana should be slaying hydras with a rusted knife, crushing the skull of the minotaur with her tight and ripping the hearts out of the cyclops with her bare hands.

I don't want relatable, I want a glorious escapist fantasy with all the tropes of greek myth: beautiful, tragic, sick and perverted in equal measure.

When we see her fighting modern threats it should be her crushing her way through a swat team with a single scratch because she's a freaking demigoddess amazon and mortal weapons are not awesome enough to hurt her. It should be her falling from the sky after slaying a dragon on top of a fighter jet, punching the glass and then throwing the pilot in the backseat so she can hijack it to fly off to shoot down the sytillan birds with a gattling gun and tomahawk missiles.

I don't want to relate to her, I want to watch this show and just be overcome with the urge to jump and say "F**K YEAH! THAT IS AWESOME!"

screw this gritty relatable crap. I want to see her dive into into the river Styx because Zeus decided he was going to toss Hades's helmet of invisibility in there and make Diana go get it because he's a douche then get away with it thanks to an excuse about testing her might and such and being Zeus and so charismatic she believes him even after the thousands souls of undead lemures almost ripped her to shreds.

HELL YES .... Thank you finaly someone who makes sense and doesn't talk about all this "relatable" crap.

I think that her origin of her dad being ares or Zeus make for a really modern and relatable story if done correctly. Making it take place on paradise island I think would be a bad move though. And probably unlikely just because its the CW. I could still see Hippolyta being an over protective mom raising Diana in the suburbs or something maybe. Then Diana going to the city to find out who her dad is of course keeping all the mythological allusions in there as kind of a loose interpretation of her origin story. Idk. I think that would kind of work to appeal to the targeted demographic. That way. She can still get to experience the "real world" as though she did just step off paradise island.

In regards to story I like what Azzarellos been doing. People need to remember what sets wonder woman apart from characters like Xena is her modern setting and the fact that shes a superhero. While she does occasionally go to ancient or mythical realms for story purposes, the bulk of her stories are in the superhero arena. I think dropping these facts and you're not doing wonder woman anymore. I think the current mix of modern and mythic is a great fit. The show can be something akin to Harry Potter, Grimm, Percy Jackson that mixes mystic concepts and creatures into modern setting.

As for the costume, I didn't like the one above. It has no individuality that screams wonder woman. It looks like a ripoff of a judge outfit from Judge Dredd without the distinct badge or helmet. As the most recognizable female comic character, I figure that adjusting the costumes sillier aspects should be done with the same care as superman. Same as superman, drop the panties. I liked the new52 pants look. The only change I'd reccomend is one from Dresden Codak, regarding superhero cleavage and connect the top over the shoulders. The exposed arms aren't too much for a badass warrior considering wolvie makes it work. And armor isn't too necessary considering this girl can fight superman and her culture spawned the warrior thong look of 300

I haven't been able to read this yet, but I want to. I have ideas how they could make a successful Wonder Woman show. First I would have her costume be armor, instead of a bathing suit looking costume or a regular skirt or pants she would wear one of those Roman styled armor type skirts (with silver star studs).

Next I would have her world of Themiscara and the Amazons be deeply rooted in Mythology and Greek Gods and be set in the past almost like Spartacus or Rome only its modern times and the Amazon's island has been isolated for so long. I would have here journey into "Man's World" and it would be like her stepping into our present her future. Her in her armor in our world. Her whole story would have ties to Greek Gods and mythological creatures like Medusa and the Minotaur, etc. So while Smallville (for a time) was about Meteor Freaks, and Arrow has been about names in a book, Wonder Woman could be about mythological stuff like Greek Gods, monster, and stuff, attacking, or needing help. I would have her origin be what the New 52 comics have, to tie into the comics and maybe add the idea (from Wizard's Ultimates idea) that the Amazons made her armor Red, White, and Blue to help her gain America's trust... maybe. The Tone could be like Arrow in terms of seriousness, and less like Smallville. It would be a serious drama, with dark elements at times, but with the ability to be a fun show too with some lighthearted ideas. Maybe the tone should be like Young Justice.

Diana can easily be done like Buffy. Diana will just fight mythology villains every week same as Buffy fighting some villain every week. The mythology villains can be disguised as humans so it will be similar to Grimm also. Like Buffy, Diana can also have some fellow students helping her. No costume, no code name, no flight, same as the Smallville tv show. In the tv mythology and series finale, once Diana becomes Wonder Woman in the future, everyone will know that she used to be Diana Prince.

Count me among the ranks that believe Wonder Woman when done best will be deeply rooted in mythology and magic. That blend of modern or fantasy that was so popular through Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, but taken out of the teen element and placed into something more epic, like the old Hercules, Xena, and Sinbad television programs.

A relateable, mundane Wonder Woman fighting against classic JLA supervillains will just not have the same grab. It's not because Wonder Woman doesn't fight those people, but rather because if a film or television program is going to do a one-hero Justice League of heroes vs villains, Wonder Woman is not DC comics top draw. While they call her part of the "Trinity", she is not actually in the top three for characters selling books. Diamond Distributing numbers for 2012 place Batman as selling the most books by a landslide, with Green Lantern holding the #2 spot for solo heroes and Superman lagging in a distant third. (The ensemble cast Justice League title scores the #2 best selling DC book, but can't be credited to a single hero.) Wonder Woman's sales? Her best selling issue falls in at 310th for the year, with her lagging below Batgirl, Nightwing, Flash, Aquaman, Earth 2, and even the Before Watchmen comics including Minutemen. Take a moment to let that settle in. More people are willing to pay money to read about Captain Metropolis, Hooded Justice, and Dollar Bill than were willing to pay money for Wonder Woman. Simply put, she lacks fan appeal.

If you put Wonder Woman in a superhero show, it will flop because the role of that superhero could be filled by virtually any other character and they would be more popular. Judging by dollars, which is how these things are run, having Wonder Woman walloping Toyman will never be as good as having Superman do it. It won't even sell as well as having Batgirl do it. Based on character popularity, a Wonder Woman tv show trying to compete on the Superhero front is going to be even less popular than Birds of Prey was.

Now that doesn't mean that we have to write off the character; it simply means we have to appeal to a differant audience. Instead of the spandex story, a fantasy based epic program deeply trenched in mythology pulls in a differant type of fans, viewers who currently don't have much in the way of competition. Making Wonder Woman essentially into a modern world Xena for the new generation has the potential to hit all that untapped territory. It combines the fantasy fans with the comic book fans. It does something new and unconventional, and above all, it puts Wonder Woman into situations where she could not be reasonably substituted for Superman. Superman beheading hydras and slaying dragons doesn't fit, but for Wonder Woman it does. The more we push Wonder Woman toward the fantasy, the more uniqueness the character recieves and the more individuality can be established.

If Wonder Woman is going to carry a solo program, she can't do it playing the part of Justice League's Wonder Woman. She has to be her own woman, and she has to be in her own element.

If the Marvel films have taught us anything, it's that being "realistic" isn't as important as bringing the essence of the character out. Thor is probably the closest to Wonder Woman and that was loaded with fantasy elements. The drama really should be about her trying to fit into our world, which is something most people can relate too. But that should be balanced with her beating up minotaurs, real minotaurs, not some guy in a silly outfit who calls himself the Minotaur. I'd personally prefer it to be a film than a TV show so they have the budget to do it well, but if they can do it on TV then awesome.

Also, the Marvel films show that audiences are okay with heroes from very different backgrounds coming together. Feel free to have her guest star in Arrow, or Oliver show up in her show.

The show could easily focus on Diana's youth and her years on Paradise Island and still remain cost effective. It would also explore her character and identity in ways we haven't yet seen which would definitely add to the story.

Wonder Woman 90210!!

Or Wonder Woman Game Of Thrones where young would-be-queens try to usurp the throne from Hippolyta. You could have splinter groups like the Bana causing drama (and decapitations!) Diana would try to act as a peace keeper and we'd see how she reacts and struggles to keep her morals (a'la The Walking Dead theme).

I think that first of all Wonder Woman needs a new suit, because her costume is obsolete.

DC and Marvel have changed some female characters costume, you could be more or less agree with them, but they have modernized them, still fits their roles and in some cases are more useful, for example: Ms Marvel, Zatanna, Power Girl, Mookingbird, Huntress, Valkirie... They don't have to expose her skin to look sexy and confident of her bodies, remember classic suits as Spider-Woman, Black Widow, Batgirl/woman or Catwoman. (You can't hide that you always have dirty thoughts with them)

If you search a little you will find alternate costumes like this with pants or classic greek armor.

That would make an excellent WW costume! And although Wonder Woman could benefit from being grounded and having a serious tone, I still would like to see plenty of classic elements such as Paradise Island, the Amazons, her training and how it's made her the person she is as well as a sense of mythological fantasy to it. It shouldn't be like Thor which was fantasy wrapped up in a sci fi tone but it should have plenty of fantasy in it too. The two can be mixed in a good way.

Feels like I'm the last person on earth that WANTS cheese in their superhero shows/movies. They're based on COMIC BOOKS. If anybody is going to try and convince me that comic books aren't silly and cheesy they can get out of town. Marvel has embraced the bombast of comic books in their adaptations but DC seems to be hiding all their properties behind a veil of "realism" and making them dark and gritty and it's just nonsense. I'm not saying everything has to be silver age Batman like the 60s TV show and I know budget can be a major issue, but give me WW in full costume fighting fricken MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERS. Showcase her crazy ass family like Azzarello is doing now. Hell just make it a fricken Xena reboot. There are a bunch of ways they could adapt the character and make an excellent show but as long as everybody wants every DC show/movie to be a rip off of Nolan's Batman movies it's always going to fail.

Oh my god yes! Everything here! Superheroes don't have to be dark, gritty, and broody to be cool!

Babs Azzerrelo´s story does not make Diana more relatable, nor does her old origin immediately omit her from having normal human problems. ET was a bloody alien who could only say 3 words, but Spielberg managed to make him relatable, what about Hobbits and Elfs, do you think they have the same problems humans have, but people have spent billions going to watch them in Cinemas. Characters in literature don´t have to come from exactly the same place of have the same geneology as us to be considered relatable. Good and thoughtful writing can do that.

Two, the story needs to be set in the real world. Like Arrow, I think it ought to have Flashbacks of her childhood on Amazon Island. How she was trained, how she lived, and ultimately how she met Steve, and the affect that had on her life.

From the sound of it, I think the guy writing the pilot is going the right way about it. He´s seen the animated film and is also looking to the source material to try and make a comprehensive persona for her. I hope he has good luck. I agree with people who say the costume should have a classical look, but with Greek Roman armor influence. Hey besides WW, is a woman, maybe she has her basic uniform, but still has abit of wardrobe so she has many accessories.

I think if they make a Wonder Woman TV show or movie they should base it off the new series right now. It's the Justice League cartoon that made me read the comics and now it's the new series that's making me love her character more. Like as much as Lynda Carter made Wonder Woman, that show can get kinda cheesy. I feel like WW should be taken more seriously if they want anything of hers to work. Unfortunately, there are fans of WW out there that just want her going back to the time with bad writing.

@fables87: I don´t really get what you mean. You know there are more interpretations of Wonder Woman than just the LC TV show, and the current series. No WW fan wants them to go back to LC show as inspiration. I think the animated film would be good inspiration as well as Rucka and Simones run on the character. They would mesh well. I also think they can take some of the horror elements from the current series, but not Azzerrelo´s pathetic retcon of her origin. Otherwise I certainly won´t be watching.

That would make an excellent WW costume! And although Wonder Woman could benefit from being grounded and having a serious tone, I still would like to see plenty of classic elements such as Paradise Island, the Amazons, her training and how it's made her the person she is as well as a sense of mythological fantasy to it. It shouldn't be like Thor which was fantasy wrapped up in a sci fi tone but it should have plenty of fantasy in it too. The two can be mixed in a good way.

@Crom-Cruach: Part of that I agree with, the action packed Greek Myth meets modern world. But I think she still can be relatable. the fact is there is nothing unrelatable about ww´s old origin. its perfectly fine. so they should just do that with what you´re saying, being really action packed, adreneline rush of an emotional journey.

@jphulk26: Do you have to bash Azzarello's run in every WW related post? It's getting to be a broken record now.

You didn´t quote what I said, so I don´t know what you´re talking about. But I only think I bash it when it is relevent to what I´m discussing. How did I bash it? I think my last post said they should stick with the original version of her story, but maybe add some of the horror elements of Azz´s run, however if they use his run´s origin I won´t watch it. Thats just the truth, which I was directly in response to the original post and what babs said in it. But next time quote, if I think i´m being over the top I´ll try and tone it down.

I think if they make a Wonder Woman TV show or movie they should base it off the new series right now. It's the Justice League cartoon that made me read the comics and now it's the new series that's making me love her character more. Like as much as Lynda Carter made Wonder Woman, that show can get kinda cheesy. I feel like WW should be taken more seriously if they want anything of hers to work. Unfortunately, there are fans of WW out there that just want her going back to the time with bad writing.

@fables87: I don´t really get what you mean. You know there are more interpretations of Wonder Woman than just the LC TV show, and the current series. No WW fan wants them to go back to LC show as inspiration. I think the animated film would be good inspiration as well as Rucka and Simones run on the character. They would mesh well. I also think they can take some of the horror elements from the current series, but not Azzerrelo´s pathetic retcon of her origin. Otherwise I certainly won´t be watching.

I would watch his creation in a heart beat. I think a lot more people would watch it if the made her like a real Amazon. Not the peace and loving crap. Amazons kill, have sex, and cut off breast in the real myths. Plus what sells on TV right now are the shows you see on HBO, Showtime, and FX. They are dark, violent, and sexy. All of those elements are in Azzarello's run.

For my part WW should be kept away from TV unless animation because she is a powerful hero with mythical stuff. Why should we ground her and ignore who she is so they can cut cost on small screen? Smallville as far as I see was not that great. Why are people even going on about it as if it is something good I don't know. It showcased the most boring and wussy and dumbest CK. Not to mention the shark jumping. But that series was all about no tights, no flight, to enable his story to wrok because he would not be Superman yet and still developing his powers. The minute he became the Blur, fought Darkseid, had to have other heroes nag him to step up he lost credibility. Diana has her powers. She needs to have connection to the Amazons as well as the real world. That is her story. Why do we have to cut it and if they do then it is not about WW. The fish out of water is not that difficult to write. Thor for example. But she is not some street level character. So , therein lies the problem. I don't want to see Gods come and take over Diana's life what Azzarello is doing in her book either. It becomes a modern Xena then and that is not WW. WW always was about connecting with the outside world and trying to adapt and be a staight up superhero, not only a godslayer.

I've said it once and I'll say it again you CANNOT treat her like a superhero. You have to treat her the same way that Thor was treated. True he fought alongside superheroes but he is never treated or characterized as being a superhero, he is treated like this warrior who is helping to protect the world and fighting alongside his friends. Even in the comics I've never seen Thor as being treated like a superhero even though he constantly fights alongside them. Diana has to be treated like something else completely.